landscape Painting - Liquin

I love Liquin. There I said it. 

This is from the Windsor Newton site: 

Liquin is a general purpose semi gloss medium which speeds drying, improves flow and reduces brush stroke retention. It halves the drying time of conventional oil color (touch dry in 1-6 days depending on color & film thickness) and resists yellowing.

Dawn Breaks (8x12) by M Francis McCarthy

Liquin cuts your drying time way, way down and if you use lead white (as I do) paintings are dry to the touch the next day if painted thinly. I usually dunk my brush in it before dipping into any colors. I also periodically add it to my mixes as I'm painting.

I've used straight up linseed oil as a medium in the past and it's slow drying. Many artists use quick drying mediums like sun thickened walnut oil or Gamblin Galkyd medium. I've tried the Galkyd and found it too glossy for my taste. 

I love the satin finish of Liquin and after I discovered it I never looked back.

Many oil painters like to get into medium composition debates like it somehow enhances one's talent. A good artist can create good work with the barest minimum of materials. I utilize Liquin in my painting to the fullest extent possible and I'd miss is badly if I had to make do without it.

BTW Liquin isn't cheap but it's worth the cost. Don't buy more than you think you'll use in a six month period. It has a limited shelf life. Also, they've now changed over to a nasty plastic bottle. I decant mine from a big bottle into the smaller original glass bottle and it's never far from my pallet.

Today's painting "Dawn Breaks" was painted soon after my move to New Zealand.. At the time I painted it I was feeling pretty challenged. I'd still not completely got my technique and materials to conform to my inner vision. 

Dawn Breaks was painted on a pine panel. I don't usually care for pine as a surface because it's too flat with not much grain. In this case, the board was textured with gesso before painting. 

I'd experimented with textured boards a lot while painting in California but ultimately I prefer to use textured boards only for my 5x7 oil sketches and hardwoods like Kauri for the larger pieces. I'm actually pretty fond of this painting now and it is housed in the M Francis McCarthy Foundation for the Arts permanent collection.